Rages against Gateway tunnel

Trump rages against Gateway tunnel project, threatening to withhold federal assistance

The president also refuted claims that he demanded the renaming of New York’s Penn Station in exchange for federal funds.

By Jacob Wendler

President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his opposition to the Gateway tunnel project aimed at connecting New York and New Jersey.

Trump has repeatedly stood in the way of the multibillion dollar project, citing concerns over diversity, equity and inclusion practices. His administration originally froze federal funding for the tunnel in September, but a federal judge allowed funds to begin flowing again last week. The judge is set to consider an appeal by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as early as next week.

“I am opposed to the future boondoggle known as ‘Gateway,’ in New York/New Jersey, because it will cost many BILLIONS OF DOLLARS more than projected or anticipated,” he wrote in a Monday afternoon post to Truth Social, adding that the project will be “financially catastrophic for the region, unless hard work and proper planning is done, NOW, to avoid insurmountable future cost overruns.”

Trump added that the federal government would be willing to meet to discuss the project, although he did not specify if such talks would include local and state officials, or congressional representatives, from New York and New Jersey.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) called the comments “a completely unhinged tantrum from someone who didn’t get their way” in a social media post, and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill vowed to continue legally challenging Trump until the funding is fully restored.

“Until his illegal actions forced the project to shut down, threw 1,000 hard-working men and women off the job, and threatened the commutes of 200,000 people a day, Gateway was on time and on budget,” Sherrill said in a statement.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), for her part, said “good-paying jobs and modern infrastructure are more important than partisan distractions.”

“The president should stop the political games, take a break from posting, and actually focus on helping working families,” she said in a statement. “I am glad that the president and his administration were forced – after losing in court – to release the initial funds for the vital Gateway project.”

Work on the $16 billion project had paused earlier this month before the latest court ruling, resulting in around 1,000 workers losing their jobs. The project would add a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, expanding the number of tunnels between New York City and New Jersey.

Democrats from New York and New Jersey, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, have repeatedly called on the president to release funds for the project.

“Great news for President Trump: the federal government is already off the hook for any cost overruns on Gateway and before funding was illegally suspended, this project had been a tremendous success, moving perfectly on time and on budget,” Sean Butler, a spokesperson for Hochul, said in a statement.

POLITICO reported earlier this month that Trump administration officials promised to release federal funds for the project on the condition that Washington’s Dulles International Airport and New York’s Pennsylvania Station be renamed in his honor — an offer that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declined, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump refuted those claims on Monday, writing that the idea of renaming Penn Station “was brought up by certain politicians and construction union heads — not me.” He justified the importance of renaming the station, in his view, by referring to Pennsylvania as “a direct competitor to New York” that is “eating New York’s lunch!”

A spokesperson for the Gateway Development Commission declined to comment, and a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Gateway project is not the only major infrastructure project Trump has aimed to block in recent weeks, with the president also attempting to stand in the way of the nearly completed Gordie Howe International Bridge, which would be the only bridge connecting Michigan and Canada that allows for foot and bike traffic.